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Dilma Rousseff re-elected President of Brazil

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has been re-elected by a whisker in a second-round head-to-head vote, after one of the closest, most aggressive campaigns in the country’s recent history.

Rousseff, whose left-wing Workers’ Party has governed Brazil since 2003, had 51.6 percent with 99 percent of votes counted. Aécio Neves, the center-right candidate for the Brazilian Social Democratic Party, came second, with 48.4 percent.

Rousseff’s party campaigned hard on its social policies, playing down Brazil’s stumbling economy and emphasizing social programs, which have helped to reduce poverty by 55 percent since 2003. Her support was strongest in lower-income groups, susceptible to her claims that her opponents would end programs such as the Family Allowance income support plan, which benefits about 50 million Brazilians.